Roze Zaterdagen photographed in the 80’s and 90’s
In the exhibition Protest2Pride, IHLIA explores the Roze Zaterdag protests of the 80’s and 90’s through the lens of photographer Marian Bakker. Marian focused on lesbian subcultures, but her photos also zoom out to reveal who else was in the fight for LGBTIQ+ rights in this period, how they dressed, their perspectives, their strategies, and how they paved the way for the Pride celebrations we know today. Marian’s photos act as a nuanced historical record, a public service to our collective memory and understanding. They invite us to step into their world and consider how today’s activism, and the ways we document it, compares.
You were invited to step into their world and reflect on how they compare to today’s discussions surrounding activism and pride.
Anyone could contribute to the cultural memory of future generations by adding their personal moments of activism to the exhibition. Expanding the ways we understand LGBTQI+ protests and Pride.
About Marian Bakker (1944-)
Bakker started as an amateur photographer in 1977 by portraying herself and her friends, but soon added reportage photos of feminist and lesbian activities. These reportage photos were mainly placed in feminist and lesbian books and brochures.
In 1981 she started studying Visual Communication at the National Academy of Visual Arts to take her work to a new level. Bakker’s new unique style of black and white reportage photography shows the equality struggle of the second wave of feminism and captures the daily lives, organizations and actions of lesbian women.
In 1993 she took photos for a photo album to accompany the prayer book in support of the campaign to bring the Gay Games to Amsterdam. This campaign succeeded and Bakker worked as a photographer for the Games from 1995 to 1998. During the games, the photo exhibition Lesbian ConneXion/s was shown for the first time, curated by Marian Bakker and Traude Buehrman, in which sixty photographers from fifteen European countries participated, including five Eastern European countries.
After the Gay Games, Bakker and her partner Ditte Wessels (also a photographer) traveled with the exhibition to Ljubljana, Zagreb, Saint Petersburg, Belgrade and San Francisco, among others. They organized photo workshops.
Location: IHLIA Plaza, Oosterdokskade 143, 3rd floor (OBA Oosterdok)
When: 12 July – 15 September 2024
Photography exhibition at IHLIA Plaza: Fabian Landewee
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In addition to the photos in the exhibition, you will find more images taken by Marian from demonstrations in seven different cities on IHLIA Outside the Box
